How the Phantom and Meg Found Each Other
by Juniorhughes
Summary: For those of you whose Notp is the phantom and Christine like my self and ship Meg and Erik this is for you
1. Chapter 1

"Christine, I love you." The Phantom sang as Christine put the diamond ring he had given her back in his hand. The Phantom had to watch as Christine and Raul rowed away singing the love song they sang on the rooftop. The Phantom left the Opera Populare through a hidden tunnel. A few minutes later a mob of angry opera patrons arrived, let by the ballet dancer Meg Giry. She picked up the Phantom's mask and turned it around in her hands. Meg stayed in the Phantom's layer after the mob dissipated. She walked over to a shattered mirror, put the mask on her face and looked at herself in the shattered glass. She saw emptiness in the mirror instead of a wall like the other two mirrors. Her sense of curiosity overcame her, she looked around her and finding herself alone she walked into the mirror, which led into the same tunnel the Phantom had gone through. It was dark inside the tunnel, but Meg couldn't miss a chance to be with the Phantom so she quickly grabbed a candle and went back into the tunnel. She went at a slow pace; she didn't want to get caught off guard by anything in the tunnel. Meg decided that it didn't matter pace she went at because she new her mother would not come and her this time. Meg walked in darkness for what felt like hours; at times it seemed like she could her the Phantoms footsteps, but when she stopped walking she realized it was only the sound of her feet echoing.

Meg thought that she might never leave the tunnel, that perhaps in the darkness she had unwittingly gone in a circle, but eventually she escaped the darkness of the tunnel. She found herself outside of the Chateau De Vincennes. She couldn't believe how far she had gone, but Meg would not be distracted by her location she looked about and saw a man with his back to her walking with his head down, everybody else was holding theirs heads up high for all the world to see, so she began to chase after the mysterious man.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wait! Erik!" Meg called out as the mysterious man got farther away from her. She had learned his name through the stories her mother had told her as a child. The Phantom stood still, no one had called him by his real name for so long that he had almost forgotten it, he was taken by such surprise that he turned around to see who it was. Although he wasn't expecting her he was disappointed to see it wasn't Christine. He was going to turn back around and continue on his way until he saw the familiar blonde hair of Madame Giry's only child Meg. The only reason he recognized her hair is from the amount of time he spent watching Christine dance and Meg had come into focus. He decided to stop, only because of his attachment to her mother. He realized that was all he ever need do for Madame Giry. She had brought him to the Opera Populare and abandoned him. Meg caught up with him, slightly out of breath.  
>"Erik. Wait. Where are you going?"<p>

"I'm leaving."

"Why? Where are you going?"

"Christine is with Raoul, Meg."

"Is she the only thing keeping you here?"  
>"Yes." Eric looked at her like her question wasn't even worth asking.<p>

"Wh-What?" Meg was at a loss for words, but she didn't want Erik to leave. "What about my mother?"

"I have repaid my debt to your mother." Erik's voice was stern.

"Where are you planning on going?" Meg wanted Erik to know that she wanted him to stay, but she knew that his heart was somewhere else. Somewhere far away.

"Life at the Opera Populare will be better with out me there." Spoke gently and touched her arm softly.

"No! No it won't!" Meg protested. "Please, you must stay."  
>"Meg!" The Phantom could not believe that Meg seemed not to remember that the reason they had left the opera house through the tunnel was because he had just killed a person. "If I went back the mob that came would find me, they would kill me, and you protesting me leaving would all be in vain."<p>

"I will protect you. I'll keep you safe." Meg knew that begging him to stay with her eyes was not getting her anywhere so she decided that she would make it obvious. "Where could you possibly go? Where will you be safe?"

"I'm leaving."

"Where!" Meg shouted abruptly, maddened that Erik hadn't given her a straight answer yet.

"Away!" Erik shouted. He just wanted to be left alone, Christine was gone and he had no idea why this girl who had only heard bedtime stories about him wanted him to stay so bad. Meg flinched slightly when he shouted. He hadn't meant to startle her or hurt her feelings. "Versailles. I'll go to Versailles."

"What if Christine comes back. What if Raul and Christine break up." Meg didn't want the reason he stayed to be for another woman, her best friend no less, but she say a twinkle of hope in his eyes.

"Meg, what am I supposed to do? Go back to the opera house, and hide, they know how to find me now. They are mad at me. Meg I've killed people, they want revenge, they will _kill _me if they find me."

"Eric I don't know how to make it any clearer to you. I want to stay. Forget the people. They weren't why you stayed in the tunnels all those years, and they weren't why you left. You would have stayed if she hadn't left, you did not live for them, and you were only there for Christine."  
>"And now she's gone! Meg can't you understand. I love her, but new she's gone and if I go back I'm just going back to open arms of the people who want me dead."<p>

"What if you remain in my arms?" Meg didn't care anymore; she had to let him know. The Phantom was caught off guard. He had no idea that this was the reason that Meg had wanted him to stay.

"Meg." He said gently grabbing her arm to turn her around and send her away.

"I deserve your love!" Meg shouted, turning the head of many citizens wandering around. "I love you! She never did!" Meg didn't want to say this, but she knew it would help her in her attempts to get the Phantom to stay. She saw that her words had wounded the Phantom, but she kept going, before he could say anything more. "She was horrified by you, she only submitted to you because you ensnared her! She fled once she could, you were always there with her, watching over her, teaching her, but the day after a new man came she completely submitted to him! She didn't even think you were real! Whenever you were near speaking to her she thought it was her father. I looked for you! I came for you! I don't care about what's behind the mask. My mother may have left, so did Christine, but I, I will _never_ leave you. Erik can't you see I love you. Can't you see this is true?" Erik pulled off the mask, keeping his head low, but high enough that Meg could still see his infection. There was fear in her eyes, but only for a second.

"I love you." Meg whispered. The Phantom put the mask back on and looked away from Meg.

"Christine."

"She is gone," said Meg, "but I am here, right now, always. I will fill in where she never was. Erik." Meg spoke gently. "You were alone all that time, all those years, an outcast. I understand. Of course I don't know exactly what it felt like, but I saw my best friend rise to stardom, I was passed up with out a second thought, by my own mother, I wasn't even good enough for her."

"Meg you don't want a life with me." The Phantom had run out of things to say and he did believe that Meg wanted to be with him.

"Erik, this is so unfair to me. I love you, I have loved you and the _only_ reason you won't give me a chance is because you're in love with some who will never love you back. I deserve you. Please."

Erik grabbed Meg by the arm and walk with her away till they got to where Erik had always designed to go. An old abandoned hotel. Erik explained to Meg that Christine had left that night; he could not start thinking about a new woman so soon. He had been in love with Christine with so long, he needed time. Him and Meg did talk for a while, it wasn't the kind the couple laugh while drinking champagne and fall in love as they stare at each other while the other isn't looking and laugh into the next morning. It was just deep and affectionate. The Phantom was gentle with Meg spoke strongly, to show that she was not as weak as the Phantom thought. Eventually Meg fell asleep, the Phantom carried her to a room not to far from his, he layed her in the bed and put the blankets up over her. As he was walking out of the room he knew that her mother was probably tearing up the opera house looking for her, but he put in the back of his head, with all the other problems that he would find solutions to, tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

Meg woke up and for a moment did not realize where she was. She expected to wake up and see the familiar setting of her room in the opera house. Soon the memories of last night flooded back into her head, all of them. The performance, Christine, Piangi's body, the chandelier crashing, finding the Phantom's layer and leading the mob down there, finding the mask, going through the mirror, telling Erik she loved him, going to the hotel and talking. She got out of bed and went down the hall; she didn't see Erik in the room that they were talking in the night before. She went down to the lobby. When she got down there and still didn't see anyone she called out.

"Erik?" She said his name gently, but strong.

"Meg."

Meg whipped around as quickly as she could. "Erik!" The elation in her voice was impossible to miss. Megs eyes widened she kind of she wanted to know where they would go from here, but was also afraid at the same time. Meg wasn't expecting him to grab her in his arm and have him kiss her with all the power he has. He was in love with Christine for so long, she understood that now and respected it; but she was also in love with him as she had been for so long. It's not like she had a real connection with him, but between the stories and the shadows that passed by in the night, she had grown to yen for the Phantom, and now he was finally here with her.

Erik just looked at Meg, at a loss for words, he didn't know what to say; he didn't want to echo last night, but he didn't know what to say, he didn't want to mention Christine, -that was too much pain for both of them- but he couldn't tell Meg he loved her. He barely knew her. He didn't know what to say, he wanted to break the silence, but didn't know what to fill it with. Then he thought about Madame Giry, she would have tore up the opera house by now looking for Meg.

"We need to get you home, now."

"But Erik." Meg wanted to tell Erik that if she was with him she was home, but she knew she couldn't.

"No Meg. Your mother will be furious, she will have torn up the Opera, and she'll be worried sick. No Meg." Erik said quickly as Meg started to open her mouth to interject. "I'm taking you back."

At that point Meg noticed that the Phantom wasn't wearing his mask.

"And you're willing to go out without your mask." The Phantom reached up and touched his face. He hadn't noticed that he wasn't wearing it either. He went upstairs to grab it. Meg folded her arms crossed her legs and sat down on an old dusty couch. She didn't move even when she heard Erik come back downstairs. She looked up when he came and stood right in front of her mask in place.

"I'm not leaving." She said plainly as looked down at her expectantly. Erik grabbed Megs arm and put her body over his shoulder and carried her to the door protesting and kicking the entire time. He opened the door and set her down.

"Lets go Meg."

"No. This can be my home now." Meg said trying to get back in, but the Phantom blocked her way. He grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Home, now."

"I don't even know how to get back to the tunnel." Meg said now grasping at straws. "Good thing I do."

The Phantom and Meg made there way back to the tunnel and started making there way back. Erik chose to go this way so less people would see him, while the mask helped it still stood out. Erik and Meg talked the entire way, about all kinds of things, they told each other stories of their childhood, and of course Meg was much more open with hers then the Phantom was. They told stories of their lives at the Opera Populare and even shared many laughs, Erik told Meg that he was close to completing a mask that looked like actually skin, and now with the light of the candle in the tunnel the Phantom saw Meg as she really was, but it was still so soon, less than 24 hours had passed since Christine had left; yet for both of them it felt much longer. It was so easy for them to carry a conversation even though they didn't know each other very well and the one thing they had in common was Christine, the one thing neither of them wanted to talk about. Erik thought back to Christine. He had to be sure, it would be unfair to Meg if he thought he loved her and he was really still in love with Christine. He realized what they had wasn't love, it was obsession; obsession that had now turned into indifference. Meg and Erik continued walking, Erik thought about how maybe Meg did deserve his love, and Meg trying to make him fall in love with her without being pushy. Erik soon realized he needed to figure out if he really did love Meg like she loved him. Then suddenly it hit him like a bus, Meg_ loved _him, actually, truly, deeply loved him, more than anyone ever had. Then he began to picture it, a home, maybe even the hotel that they stayed at just fixed up, Meg and him together, he even imagined having a few kids with them, they were all smiling. He had other fantasies about him and Meg, including their marriage and taking care of a baby, then another thing hit him like a bus, something he forgot about, but was far to important to not talk about.

"I'm a killer." Erik said abruptly interrupting Meg.

"What?" Meg was caught so off guard that she couldn't come up with a more competent response.

"I've murdered."

"I know." Meg tried to make it seem like she didn't care.

"Meg I've killed people. I'm a murder. That mob didn't come after me last night because I didn't cast Carlotta as the lead. It was because I killed Piangi, and the poor woman that the chandelier fell on –which I admit that one was an accident-, but I also killed Buquet, right before your mother brought me here she saw me kill someone, I-"

"Erik I don't care. I don't care about your past, all I care about is being in your future." Erik didn't know how to respond, his words would just sully the moment, but he tried to show her all the love he could with his eyes. Meg took a step towards him in the darkness. She reached her hand out and grabbed the edge of the mask and started to take it off, but the Phantom moved away before she could.

"But I don't care Erik I saw you last night and this morning and there's no one around. You don't need to be afraid."

"I don't want you to see."

"Why?"

"Because you should never have to see me like this." The Phantom quickly pulled the mask on. Meg touched part of the infected side of his face.

"I don't even notice." After a few moments of silence the Phantom turned away a put the mask back on.

"Not to much further." Meg and Erik started walking and remained in silence for a while, Meg didn't want to speak as to not disturb Erik, soon Erik started a conversation and they spent the rest of the time talking

The finally made it back to the Phantoms layer and they were about to go in until Erik realized he still had his shrine of Christine up. He wouldn't want Meg to see that. He left her in the tunnel saying that he wanted to make sure it was safe and that if any of the mob saw her with him they would probably kill her. He got rid of all his Christine stuff as fast as he could. He went and got Meg, grabbing her hand to lead her out of the tunnel. Erik started to get the boat ready when her heard Meg ask what was over to the right. It was the bedroom. He didn't really want Meg to go in there, but he had no reason for her not to go. Meg proceeded toward the bedroom and the Phantom got out of the water to go get her. Meg was already sitting comfortably on the bed.

"Meg we must go, you must put your mother at ease, she's probably distraught."

"I don't want to leave." Meg pleaded

"I'll come get you after you've put your mothers worry to rest." Erik said

"Fine." Meg stood up and made her way out to the boat with the Phantom behind her. They made their way through the water.

Meg climbed out of the boat with the Phantom holding her hand. An action that hey both found titillating. Meg made her way to her mother's bedroom, while Erik made his way to the shadows. Madame Giry's relief was great when she saw her daughter's blonde hair. Madame Giry wanted to know everything, but Meg wouldn't tell her, after a Giry was calmed and they had talked a bit as they always did Meg told her about her plan. She didn't know how the Phantom felt about her, but she thought there was definitely a chance that he had feelings.

"Mother I'm leaving. Forever."

"What? No you can't go. Why" Madame Giry was torn apart by this sudden announcement of her daughters.

"I'm in love and were going away to be together. He can't stay here." Meg quickly added knowing that her mother was about to ask why they couldn't stay. "He already has a house for us to live at." This was a lie, but Meg couldn't tell her mother that she was leaving to be with Erik.

"But you can't leave you have a life here, you are needed here."

"No I'm not; there are plenty of dancers and I need to start a life. I can't wait for you to die. I'm in love now mother."

"Who is it" Madame Giry had to know, but Meg didn't want to tell him. Meg decided to risk it. Erik was a common enough name.

"His name is Erik, he's not from around here, but I meet him and we've been spending time together in secret."

"Erik?" Madame Giry's tone was suspicious.

"Yes." Meg was worried that her mother had figured it out.

"Really? You know who else is named Erik?" Madame Giry began to talk as if this were an interrogation. Meg swallowed hard before asking whom. "The Opera Ghost." Madame Giry said flatly.

"Oh, yes I suppose it is." Meg said trying to act natural, but failing.

"Meg?"

"Yes?"

"What does he look like?" Meg was caught off guard and decided it was best if she didn't try to come up with a fake man to describe.

"I really don't that is important." Madame Giry was about to question her more when Meg decided that she just needed to finish this. "I know what this is mother, you don't want me to leave, you jealous. You had a man in you life who is now gone, and you don't want me to leave because you don't want to be alone, but mother I love him and I will be with him." Meg stood up. "Goodbye." Madame Giry suddenly felt guilty. She didn't want to daughter to leave her, but she couldn't keep her at the opera house.

"Wait let me help you pack your things. You can't live in your costume."  
>Meg and her mother went back to Meg's room and put all her clothes and things of sentimental value in suitcases. Once they finished Meg and her mother went out into the hall. Meg rapped her mother up in her arm in a goodbye embrace.<p>

"Goodbye mother."  
>"Can't I go down and meet this man who is stealing you away from me."<p>

"No mom I really don't think that's a good idea. I'm sorry, but he's waiting. Goodbye. I love you."

"I love you too and I'll miss you."

"I'll try to visit sometime. Goodbye." Meg walked down the hall to where she had last seen Erik. Erik came out of the shadows when he saw her and grabbed Meg in a tight hug. He lived her up and spun her in a half circle Meg giggling the whole time. The Phantom had a lot of time to think about it and realized that he did love Meg, while he was waiting her thought about all the times he had seen her in the opera house, about the times when he had been watching Christine from above and Meg caught his eye, how his gaze lingered on her, maybe then he was in love with Meg and didn't know it. The more time that Meg spent with her mother the more time Erik had to think about how much he loved her and the more it hurt to not be with her. That was the reason for his emotional outburst, but he still wanted to be closer to Meg, but he knew he couldn't, not yet. They went back to the tunnels and sailed back to the Phantom's home. The Phantom led the way to the mirror that led to the tunnel.

"Wait, could we stay here for a little bit?" Said Meg with a slight head cock towards the Phantoms room. Erik looked at her with a bit of mischief and danger in his eyes and smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

The Phantom went up to Meg and kissed her. Meg kissed him back. Meg could hardly contain herself. Erik loved her back, Erik was excited, this is true and he did it, he was so nervous. The separated for a moment then the Phantom kissed Meg back hard, Meg reached up and pulled the mask of his face, the Phantom ran his fingers through her hair as they continued to kiss. They made their way to the Phantom's room and got on the bed, it wasn't long before it became more than just kisses, have no more fear that their feelings wouldn't be reciprocated they removed the barriers of their clothing that kept them apart, their bodies became entwined and the passion between them erupted as they showed the how much they loved each other.

Afterwards they lay side by side taking deep quick breaths. Meg soon fell asleep exhausted. She never indulged herself in the sweet bliss of a mans body before. Once Meg was asleep the Phantom went over to her and held her arm body against his and he too fell asleep with a smile on his face. They stayed with Erik holding Meg the rest of the night.

The next morning Meg awoke to find the Phantom looking at her. He enjoyed watching her sleep, she smiled and even laughed sometimes. Erik gave Meg a very passionate and tender kiss to say good morning with, but they couldn't stay that like, the theater patrons wanted revenge and they new where to get it. They made their way through the tunnel, but this time it long walk didn't seem as dark or as long until they noticed something terrible that they had forgotten in their giddiness. The Phantoms mask was still laying on the floor where Meg had dropped it as the Phantom kissed her. They didn't want to go all the way back through the tunnel, but the Phantom was insecure without it. Meg decided it was best if she went back and got it incase the mob was there, so in a couple of hours Meg came back and gently put the mask on the Phantom.

"You don't need this you know."

"Because I didn't have this is the reason for those scars you saw on me last night." Erik said, Meg didn't know that he was abused by gypsies, but he didn't want to talk about it.

"Oh Erik." Meg said softly as if to say "I'm so sorry." Erik realized this.

"Well it's over now." He said with a slightly cheery voice. "Lets go. I was thinking we could just fix up the hotel to live in if that okay with you."

"Erik, that sounds great!" Meg had figured that was where they would live though she only figured that because that was where they had spent the night before.


	5. Chapter 5

A little over a month had past and the hotel was almost completely finished and ready to live in, which Erik and Meg were doing. Meg decided it was time to get married, but she didn't know if Erik would want a preacher to him in his mask.  
>"Eric its time, we need to be married. What if we want to have children?"<p>

"Meg, we don't have a reputation to uphold, it's okay if we have children before we're married."

"I know, but I've been waiting my whole life to be married."

"Meg."

"I know." Meg interjected. "You don't want to be seen wearing your mask, but you don't want to be seen not wearing it. I just think it'd be a lot easier if we were married."

"Easier?"

"Easier for everything, easier to stay, to stay loyal, to know that you love me. Everything."

"Meg, if you ever need proving that I love you just say so." Said Erik with a coy smile as he walked towards her. Meg put her arms out once he was arms length away to stop him.

"That's not what I mean."

"I know, but I just, I'm afraid to go out into the world."

"I know." Meg looked down in slight despair and sighed.

"I know! I can get the mask that looks like an actual face and I can wear it when we get married."

"That's great!" said Meg then with a quieter tone she asked, "Is it real human skin?"

"No Meg."

"Okay good." Meg took a deep breath.

Meg and the Phantom walked to the opening of the tunnel together and then Meg feeling sick and having thrown up earlier that day went back home, but home was not the safest place to be. Soon Meg heard a powerful knock on the door. She opened the door to find a large group of men standing there, all with angry looks on their faces. It wasn't to long until she realized who these men were; they were the men who had followed her down to the Phantoms layer.

"Ah miss Giry, isn't it?" Asked the man who had knocked on the door.  
>"Yes." Replied Meg, her voice cracking with worry.<p>

"Now I can't imagine why a young talented dancer from the Opera Populare would be here instead of rehearsing for the next opera with her best friend while her mother stands near by." Said the man as he began to pull out a gun.

"I'm taking a break from dancing." Meg said trying her best to stay calm.

"Well, my dear girl, you may remember that on the fateful night of Monsieur Piangi's death you lead us down to the 'Opera Ghosts' layer."

"Yes." Said Meg becoming slightly wide eyed.

"Well, we're still searching for this 'Erik.'" The man said spitting out Erik's name.

"I'm sorry, but I'm really not interested in searching for him." Meg said putting on a pleasant smile as she started to bid them fair well.

"Oh that's not why we're here." The man said put his hand on the door so that Meg couldn't shut it. "See we've been tracking this beast." Meg took a deep breath in when he said 'beast'. "And we found him. See it didn't occur to any of us to keep looking around in the Phantom's layer; but I think it might have occurred to you." The man said menacingly and taking a step forward to get closer to Meg. "We found a little tunnel behind a mirror." He paused to let the words sink in. "Of course," he said with a lighter tune and taking a step back. "We weren't going to follow a little tunnel, who knows what could be in there, but, very recently, we did discover where it let out."

"Really." Said Meg before they could say more. "We'll I'm very glad you let me know. I would hate to know that man was free in society." She tried to sound as convincing as she could.

"Meg, no games, okay? Just tell us where the Phantom is."  
>"I don't know."<p>

"Really?" The man said the anger in his voice rising. "Just tell us where he is and no harm will come to you."

"I don't know where he is." Meg said sounding stern and stubborn. The man looked behind him to two of him acquaintances.

"Get her." He said, the flatness and unfeeling in his voice was startling. The two men broke away from the pack of angry men and grabbed Meg's arms.

"What? No! What are you doing? Stop! No!" This was all Meg was able to get out before she was knocked unconscious.

Meg woke up tied in a chair with a gag in her mouth. When she realized what had happened she started to breath very heavily and a tear squeezed its way out her eye and rolled down her cheek.

"Now, now." Said a sinister voice from a corner in the darkness.

"Do be gentle with her." Said another voice in the darkness. This voice was less sinister, and familiar. Meg tried to figure out who it was. Raoul? No. It wasn't Erik. Monsieur Reyer? No. Monsieur Debienne, the previous manager? No. Monsieur Andre? No. Then it hit her. Monsieur Firmin. Had he planned this? Meg began to shout through her gag, but her words could not be understood so she soon stopped. The man who knocked on her door came forward and took the gag out her mouth and squatted down to be level with her.

"Now Meg, we really want to know where the 'Opera Ghost' is, and we would really like you to tell us, but since for some reason you don't want to help us we brought a doctor in to make sure that your pretty little mind is working properly." He said pulling his gun out and tapping her temple twice with it. "He did some exams while you were unconscious, he's going to do some more now that you've come to, but, do we have news for you."


	6. Chapter 6

The Phantom returned to his house to see the door half way open. He figured everything was okay and didn't want to jump to conclusions, but he did quicken his pace. He got to the door and pushed it open to reveal a broken vase, a picture had had been knocked sideways and dirt inside the doorframe. Erik knew what happened and felt sick. He had to hold onto the wall to support his shaking knees. Meg had been taken and it was all his fault. He had left her alone and now she was going to pay for the consequences of his actions. He knew he had to get her back, and the people who took her were going to pay. Erik went up stairs to his and Meg's room, holding tightly to the banister for fear of falling in his weakened state, and grabbed from under the bed his lasso, and in the kitchen he grabbed to biggest and sharpest knife that he could. He didn't know where to go, but he knew who took her.

The phantom had surprisingly good tracking skills and would not let the men get away with taking his love. He soon discovered where they had taken her. The mud that was on there shoes, which had been tracked into the house, was very helpful. He made his way into the basement of the abandoned building where they had taken her. The men picked this building in particular because no one would be able to hear Meg's screams, which would make killing the men even easier for the Phantom.

"I won't tell you where he is. Ever." Meg spat at the mans foot.

"Oh, you love him do you? After all he's done to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Please Meg, I'm not an idiot. I can tell. The heavy bags under your eyes, the droopiness of your neck you weariness." The man said standing up.

"That's just cause I'm-" Said Meg before she was cut off.

"_That_ doesn't cause bruised like the ones on your back or your arms. And what's this?" He said grabbing Meg's head and turning it slightly. "And those little cuts by your ears?"  
>"It's not what you think."<p>

"Oh really. Than what is it?"

"It happened once."

"Sure it did. That's why you won't tell me where he is, your afraid, afraid of him, afraid that if you give him away he'll find out and hurt you again."

"It's not what you think!" Meg was telling the truth Erik had only hit her once, and she wouldn't really call it a beating, they had got into a little spat and Erik lost control, he didn't know that functioning couples fight and still work through it. He didn't want to lose Meg, but he was so angry and he just lost control. The bruised and cuts were from him, but it was nothing that she never felt before at the opera house, she collided with other dancers or had props fall on her all the time, and she expected it, she didn't want it, but she expected it. She wasn't let nearly unconscious on the ground bleeding, Erik was there holding her crying and apologizing over and over again. He tried to punish himself, or told Meg that she could hit him or stab him or something, but she wouldn't. Erik had been abused by the gypsies for years and locked away in the opera house basement for even longer. Circumstances had made him cold and harsh. She understood, and she knew it would never happen again, but since then she did walk with her head lowered and did move slightly slower.

Erik dropped in at that point and in followed Hell's fury. It was all very quick choked a few, stab the others, and left one man hanging from a beam, the men fought back, but their strength was nothing compared to Erik's, but during the fighting many punched flew, and Erik landed many, one that he didn't want to land.

"Erik." Said Meg on the ground, where the chair that she was tied to had fallen over, with a trickle of blood coming out the side of her mouth. "You, you hit-." Meg cut of there she didn't want to say he had hit her, again. Erik quickly untied her and kneeled down beside her, coddling her head in his lap. A few tears fell out of his eyes. How could he hurt the woman he loved, again. Meg knew that this was an accident, that he hadn't meant to and it only happened because he was trying to protect her. Meg reached up and took the mask off and kissed his face.

"I love you, all of you. You don't need to hide." Erik just looked at Meg as if he were trying to talk to her with out using any words. Trying to say that it wasn't her he was hiding from. "Eric I have great news. I'm pregnant."


	7. Chapter 7

Not long after what happened in the basement of the old building Meg and Erik were married, by a priest in a church far away from the city, and seven months later Meg gave birth, to twins, two boys. They finished there work on the hotel and made it a home, eventually they went back to the Opera Populare and told Madame Giry that they were married. She was very happy, she didn't know why Meg felt that she needed to keep this a secret, and was very happy to meet her two grandsons. Meg even saw Christine for a while, of course Meg didn't tell Christine that she had married the Phantom, but she did tell her that she had retired from dancing, was married and had two boys. Christine was very happy and announced her engagement to Raul. She invited Meg to the wedding, but Meg didn't go, she knew it would be a bad idea to bring the man who stalked Christine for most of her life and tried to kill Raul, to their wedding. Meg and Erik lived full lives with their four children, until one day when the infection took over Erik and left Meg all alone. In her grief she went out walking many days and stumbled about an auction, as she soon learned the Opera Populare had burned down and the auction was for the things that had been salvaged. She heard a familiar name on one bid

"The Vi count Di shagne." Meg whipped around and saw Raul, age and in a wheelchair. Soon after she left. She couldn't be without Eric, and seeing memorandum of her old life hurt too much. She went to the hotel, which all of her children had move out of, climbed to the widow seal outside of her and Erik's room and jumped, and was soon reunited with her husband.


End file.
